Retailers have less than six months to prepare and meet the demands of the busiest shopping period of the year
It is less than six months until Black Friday 2023, on 24 November. The event marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season and, for retailers, the busiest time of the year. nShift, the global leader in parcel delivery management software, has launched a new online hub to help retailers and webshops prepare for the shopping bonanza and beyond.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday represent huge opportunities for ecommerce companies. To take advantage of the major shopping events, retailers must ensure that they put every measure in place to ensure success. This means making sure that they have transport capacity to manage deliveries and that they optimize the shipping process to improve the customer experience and win loyalty from consumers.
“Consumer expectation around Black Friday is growing year on year”, said Sean Sherwin-Smith, Product Director Post-Purchase, nShift. “Today, price is not enough to stay competitive. Now more than ever, the customer experience really matters, which means retailers need to pull out all the stops, putting the plans and processes in place to meet the expected demand, and come out on top.”
Preparing for peak
Logistics and the supply chain have a crucial role to play in ensuring that businesses make the most of Black Friday and attract customers back for Christmas. But it is vital that those customers get a great experience, both before and post purchase. In order to do this, retailers need to use the next few months to:
- Get ready for peak – as demand grows, retailers must ensure they have the infrastructure to cope with an increase in activity. This includes making sure that the information presented on the webshop reflects the reality of the warehouse situation
- Have the right carriers in place - retailers need a spread of carriers to cater for every delivery requirement. As consumers become more discerning and demanding, offering a range of delivery options with sustainability preferences to cater for how, when and where their products arrive is now business-critical
- Get CX right - the checkout is no longer the end of the customer journey. In many ways, it’s the start of the customer relationship and this means providing a personalised service from the moment a product is purchased. This includes offering a variety of delivery options, keeping people updated on the progress of their delivery and communicating how and when consumers prefer
- Prepare for the returns rush - returns are now a staple part of the shopping experience and consumers expect this end of the transaction to be slick. Research suggests 10-20% of items will be returned so it’s crucial that retailers make the returns process as efficient as possible.
Sean Sherwin-Smith continued, “As the adage goes, ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. And that is particularly the case when it comes to Black Friday.”
Access resources to help scale up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday: www.nshift.com/black-friday
www.nshift.com
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